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      10-27-2014, 07:06 AM   #1
dgmanny
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Convertible top motor noise - normal?

Hi, I am close to buying a low mileage Z4M roadster and this forum is very helpful. The convertible top motor was recently replaced. However, when I open or close the top, the car makes a rather loud buzzing noise. I can't tell whether the noise is electrical interference from a rear speaker or the motor or something else. Has anyone else experienced this? Is it normal? I had a e46 m3 convertible, but it didnt make this noise. Thanks
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      10-27-2014, 01:53 PM   #2
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Should sound like this. It will be louder in the car as this viodeo was taken from about ten feet away and outdoors:

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      10-27-2014, 02:03 PM   #3
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Huz-Z View Post
Should sound like this. It will be louder in the car as this viodeo was taken from about ten feet away and outdoors:
This is exactly how mine sounds too, so the OP should compare the car he is looking at to this.
Also to the OP, don't expect your key to remotely open the car's top as Huz-Z's did - unless the example you are considering has been retrofitted with a new module providing for such capability.
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      10-27-2014, 08:56 PM   #4
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Mine sounds just like that too. It sounds like the latch on my driver's side gets a little stuck when putting the top down at times. Any suggestions?
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      10-28-2014, 06:40 AM   #5
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Quote:
Originally Posted by SlickShift View Post
Mine sounds just like that too. It sounds like the latch on my driver's side gets a little stuck when putting the top down at times. Any suggestions?
Mine used to stick too until I fixed it by applying a modest amount of white lithium grease to the rollers in the top of the windshield frame and also to the roof hooks. You don't need very much of the stuff at all so you don't have to make a gooey mess. Just enough to feel it with your finger.
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      10-28-2014, 06:40 AM   #6
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Thanks. This is helpful. The noise sounds similar.
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      10-28-2014, 06:41 AM   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Kimo View Post
This is exactly how mine sounds too, so the OP should compare the car he is looking at to this.
Also to the OP, don't expect your key to remotely open the car's top as Huz-Z's did - unless the example you are considering has been retrofitted with a new module providing for such capability.
By the way - that's not my car; its just a YouTube video I found that conveniently has decent audio of what the roof mechanism sounds like.
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      10-29-2014, 08:43 PM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Huz-Z View Post
Mine used to stick too until I fixed it by applying a modest amount of white lithium grease to the rollers in the top of the windshield frame and also to the roof hooks. You don't need very much of the stuff at all so you don't have to make a gooey mess. Just enough to feel it with your finger.
Thanks for the tip. I'll have to apply some to the hooks and rollers.
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      11-04-2014, 11:15 AM   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Kimo View Post
This is exactly how mine sounds too, so the OP should compare the car he is looking at to this.
Also to the OP, don't expect your key to remotely open the car's top as Huz-Z's did - unless the example you are considering has been retrofitted with a new module providing for such capability.
My 07 will open the top using the unlock button on the remote. I was unsure what he was pushing to raise the top. Was it the lock button? I can raise the top and windows using the key though the door lock.
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      11-04-2014, 01:43 PM   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by TommyA View Post
My 07 will open the top using the unlock button on the remote. I was unsure what he was pushing to raise the top. Was it the lock button? I can raise the top and windows using the key though the door lock.
I recall (but may be off on this) that the STOCK functionality that you are describing is designed such that you can indeed use the keyfob to OPEN the top by depressing (and holding?) the unlock(?) button, but that it is not designed to likewise remotely CLOSE the top in a similar manner (as you describe above, this CAN be accomplished manually from outside the car by using the key through the door lock). I understand that the lack of closure functionality is due to regulatory issues here in the States.

The offshore aftermarket mods (mine's by Gaptech, although I understand there is another more recent system out now, but am not sure which one is used in the video) allow opening AND closing remotely pursuant to a series of button presses (but constant depression of a button throughout is NOT required). To answer your question, if the system used in the video is the Gaptech, then the button sequence he presses to CLOSE the top is UNLOCK - UNLOCK - LOCK.

The Gaptech mod (perhaps the other also) also allows - from inside the car - a one-touch depression of the console-mounted cabin OPEN and CLOSE buttons (instead of press and hold throughout the entire process, which is also a regulatory safety requirement in the US).

FWIW, I will say that the Gaptech mod is perhaps the most useful mod that I have ever made to ANY of my BMWs over the years, and there have been A LOT of BMWs and A LOT MORE mods.
http://www.gap-tech.co.uk/
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Last edited by Kimo; 11-04-2014 at 01:56 PM..
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      11-25-2014, 11:25 AM   #11
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I had the car checked out by a independent bmw repair shop. They said the excess noise could be due to the fluid being low. How hard is it to add fluid myself? Is it a difficult DYI? thanks
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      11-25-2014, 01:09 PM   #12
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Quote:
Originally Posted by dgmanny View Post
I had the car checked out by a independent bmw repair shop. They said the excess noise could be due to the fluid being low. How hard is it to add fluid myself? Is it a difficult DYI? thanks
Others with more experience may refute this, but my understanding is that the entire top needs to come out before you can "add fluid", and I'm not even sure that the hydraulic motor is user serviceable such that you could add fluid even if you got to it.

If the top was replaced recently, as I think your original post stated, then it seems unlikely that the motor would already 'need' fluid. if you've got to remove the top to add fluid anyway, you might as well wait until it goes full tits up and then replace it with a good motor. Removing the soft top is not an easy DIY.

Are you sure it's too loud? Does it otherwise work correctly? Are you confident in these indies' knowledge of such things?
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